Friday. Drove down
peninsula to Palo Alto. Lunch there at
Ricky’s. beautiful place. Went to San Jose and Alum Rock Park

July 6

Saturday. Took in Ice
follies went with Jay, Scotty, and Kay Woody.

July 7

Sunday. Went to
Lafayette and visited Bill & Ruby Banks and the boys, Michael & Gary.

July 8

Monday

July 9

Tuesday. Jay took us
to buy our plane tickets to Kansas City.
Went to Macy’s and Woolworth’s.

We purchase our airline tickets slightly differently these days! These were for the next week.

July 10

Wednesday. Baked a
cake to serve tonight. Expecting Bill
and Ruby.

July 11

Thursday

July 12

Friday. Got some
clothes ready for the trip home.

July 13

Saturday. Kenney’s
Birthday. Mrs. Burleson called from
Hotel. We went to Cliff House and saw
her there on a bus. Baked cocoanut (yes, that's her spelling) crumble pie for Sat. dinner. Beef
strogonoff day. Also baked confetti
Angel Food for Sunday birthday dinner.

Sunday. Didn’t got to
church. Jay not feeling well. While dinner was cooking, the boys opened
pkgs. After dinner we drove to Belvedere
Island and to Mr. Tamalpais. Took Kay to
Presidio and then home.

This Kay wasn't me - it was a friend of Jay's.

July 15

Monday. Did some
packing and baked angel food for Mr. & Mrs. Borges. P.M. Rested – packed some more. Took cake to Borges and told them good by.

July 16

Tuesday. Overslept
and almost missed our plane. Took off
for L.Angeles on time. 1 ½ hour flight
at 1200 ft. Breakfast served about
eight. Left L.A. at 9:30. 5 hr. flight at 19,000 ft. Flew over Las Vagas and in site of
Yosemite. Arrived in K. C. 3:30 P.M.

July 17

Wednesday. Made dust
ruffle – valances and covered chair by working at it all week.

Sounds as thought she went right to work after arriving at Ikey & Becky's in Kansas City. She was very busy the next few days...

July 18 – 19 – 20

July 21

Sunday. Late
breakfast. Went for drive to Silver Spur
Club and had a flat. Nearly
roasted. After resting and cooling off
we went to Holiday Inn for dinner.

July 22

Monday. Ikey took us
to catch 9 o’clock bus. Arrived in
Springdale at 3:30. Supper with
McKims. K.M’s folk came over and we had
a picture show. Then spent night at
K.M.’s.

Long way home from California - several days in Kansas City, a bus to Springdale to spend one night and then a bus ride home to Van Buren.

July 23

Tuesday. Lunch at
JoEllen’s and then rode a bus home.
Arrived at 6:46. Ira and Minnie
met us and we had supper with them.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

While my grandparents were on the extended trip across the country and in California, she didn't keep up really well with her diary - several days only writing down the day of the week, or skipping altogether.

Saturday. Painters
finished up the bedroom. Can’t move in
till next week.

May 5

Sunday. Sunday School
and church. Then to Letty’s for Cy and
Maude’s birthday party. We went on to
Springdale and spent the night. Picked
Nora, Grandma & Maude up Mon. A.M. and came on home.

May 6

Monday. Came home
from Springdale and cleaned bedrooms.

May 7

Tuesday. More
cleaning and washing A.M. Went to Nora’s
to Group 1 meeting in afternoon. Maude
co-hostess.

May 8

Wednesday. Ira &
Minnie, Grace (Farmer), Ruby Harshbarger and I went to Hot Springs to Disciples of
Christ Church State Convention. Started
out at 6:30 and arrived home around twelve midnight. Had fine time.

May 9

Thursday. Minnie and
I defrosted home freezer A.M. Went to
chiropodist 3:30 P.M. My! How good my
feet feel.

May 10

Friday

May 11

Saturday

May 12

Sunday. Mother’s
Day. Heard from all the children. Grandma got her television.

Sunday. Went to S.S.
and church then to Rudy for Mrs. Carney’s birthday. Had Grandma all week.

Now we know why the diary had only the days written in - Mammaw was taken care of Grandma Comstock that whole week while Aunt Maude was visiting her daughter.

April 15

Monday. Nora came
home from Muskogee.

April 16

Tuesday. We took
Grandma to Nora’s and went on to Springdale – Spent night at JoEllen’s.

Now Aunt Nora Rainwater gets a turn at taking care of her mother!

April 17

Wednesday. Went to
choir practice to hear cantata. Then
spent night at K.M.’s after mending all day.

April 18

Thursday. Drove out
by farm and on home. Got word Arthur had
a heart attack in Albequerque.

Mammaw's brother - Arthur Hays. He survived - he died in May of 1961.

April 19

Friday. Minnie and I
called Grace in hospital. Arthur very
critical.

April 20

Saturday. Made a few
plans for Easter. Becky and Ike came at
noon. Called on Grandma at Nora’s after
noon. Then to see Paul and Neva’s home.

April 21

Sunday. Easter. Becky and Ike attended church with us. Ira and Minnie came for dinner.

April 22

Monday. Kenney took
Grace and me to Ft. Smith to shop for food for CMF District meeting next Thursday
night.

April 23

Wednesday [she skipped a day and didn't catch her mistake until the next week] Mr.
Boatright finished the kitchen woodwork. P.M. I went to Grace’s
and made desserts for Mens’ Fellowship.
More rain.

April 24

Thursday. Shopped all
morning for groceries. Three P.M. Grace,
Emma Mae & myself went to church to cook for CMF.

April 25

Friday. Drove up on
the hill and picked up quilt Jackie Swearingen quilted for Becky. Then shopped uptown.

April 26

General routine

April 27

Sunday. [actually the 28th] Took Grandma,
Maude and Nora for a drive. Kenney drove
upon Mt. Vista where we could see water, water everywhere. River and Lee’s Creek raging.

Lee's Creek ran past Tom Comstock's homestead in Crawford County, and divided his place from Oklahoma - he was my great, great grandpa, the first of our family to move to Arkansas. There are lots of stories about Tom - he was evidently quite a character. One story goes like this. In a much earlier time, the spring rains had Lee Creek raging and Tom stood on his levee, shook his fist at the heavens and ordered "God, don't you dare flood my fields". And the flood didn't happen that year.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Saturday. Joe’s
birthday. Finished Laurie’s and Mary
Alice’s birthday dresses. The Carneys
and Comstocks came in from Florida

Joe's birthday - he was 39. Mary Alice's birthday is March 16th - she was three that year. Aunt Let and Uncle Cy Carney had been to Florida, but I'm not sure which Comstocks had gone with them, but probably Aunt Minnie & Uncle Ira.

March 3

Sunday. One dozen of
us had dinner together at Nora’s before Letty & Cy took off for
Fayetteville.

And I'm sure a great time was had by all!

March 4

Monday. Went to Ft.
Smith with Kenney, Maude & Nora. Got
shirt for Gary’s birthday. K.M. had
lunch with us.

March 5

Tuesday. Gary’s
birthday. A rainy day.

Gary was seven.

March 6

Wednesday. Wash Day.

March 7

Thursday. Attended
Garden Club at Baptist church recreation room.
Grace and I bought hens and delivered to be cooked.

March 8

Friday. World Day of
Prayer, First Presbyterian Church in Ft. Smith.
Nine from Wood Memorial.

P.M. & Evening helped cook and serve banquet to FHA
group from Alma. Grace and I had charge
of creamed chicken. Cleared $103.00

March 9

Saturday. General
routine. Cooking and cleaning. Sent out church laundry.

Wednesday. Maude not
so well. Nora & I shopped for our
groceries and hers. Then went out and
cooked lunch again. Card from Becky –
not coming to birthday party. (Grandma Comstock's birthday) Mrs.
Overby passed away.

March 28

Thursday. Grace and I
called on Dorothy, Mabel, and Della.
Also called on Emma Mae Rogers.

March 29

Friday. Nora, Kenney,
and I cleaned house for Maude. She's not
feeling so well. JoEllen’s folk spent
the night with us. Kay won Champion in
Voice at Musical Festival in Ft. Smith.

Oh my! I remember singing on that stage that night at the annual high school music festival. Sandra Gaskin also was a Champion with her solo. I was a Junior, she was a Sophomore - the winners were customarily Seniors. Our boyfriends - Pat Singletary and Donnie drove down over the mountains to be there for us. I still have the sheet music for the song I sang. Not only did I get the Championship Medal and get to perform on stage that night, but both a trio and a quartet I sang in were awarded 1st place ribbons.

March 30

Saturday. A.M. Graydon’s folk came to spend the night and to
attend Grandma’s birthday party.

3 P.M.
attended Mrs. Overby’s funeral.

March 31

Sunday. The big
day. About 40 people at the birthday
party. 14 great grandchildren present.

Grandma Comstock's annual birthday party and reunion. Grandma would be 90 on April 3rd. I'm guessing all nine of Mammaw's grandchildren were counted in the 14. I was the oldest of the great grandchildren.

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Mammaw's Diary

My grandmother kept a diary for a five-year window of her life. I am posting the contents here for my cousins and other family members, as well as those other persons mentioned in her entries. Notes in italics are my annotations. She names a number of friends and church members that I did not know.

About Me

I have done family research and genealogy for over twenty years. I have a webpage, Leaves of the Tree, and another Blog of the same name which discusses some of the conflicts, corrections to established genealogies, brick walls, etc.

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